This research guide was written with the goal of helping MPTC Economics students get started on their research on the varied aspects of economics--the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
Books, E-books and AV Materials
Here are some search terms you may want to try: Economics
Economics-United States
Economics-Social Aspects
Economy
Global Economy
Economists
Monetary Policy
Medical Economics
Bioeconomics
Financial economy
Websites
The Library of Economics and Liberty
http://www.econlib.org/
With access to encyclopedia entries, e-books, lots of articles in full-text, RSS feeds, podcasts, and more, this is a supersite for serious students of economics.
What are factors of production? What is the cost/benefit of helping countries in need? Why have milk prices risen recently? What is a market economy? Instructor Joe Halter’s website provides links that will answer these questions and help you complete your assignments properly.
The Economic Policy Institute http://www.epi.org/
This site contains discussion, analysis, and links to other sites about current economic matters, including statistics, labor, income, economic snapshots and indicators, opinion pieces, unemployment, foreign trade, and demographics. Searchable. The Economic Policy Institute describes itself as a “nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy."
The History of Economic Thought http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/
Over 500 economists from the 1600’s to the present are listed, and extensive entries are given for many of them.
Working Papers and Technical Reports in Business, Economics and Law http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/techreps/techrepshome.php
Grey literature, publications from government and other organizations that are not commercially published, is made accessible on this website as a service of the Library of Congress.
The Business Desk: Paul Solman Takes Your Questions About Business and Economics News http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/
This Q&A series features topics related to business and economics news, such as subprime loans, tax rebates, causes of U.S. economic problems, interest rates, and currency and inflation. Includes a form for submitting questions. From the PBS Online NewsHour.
Business Reference Services BERA home page http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/BERA/
This information service of the Library of Congress is a great site with a broad range of topics. Nevertheless, its data on the oil and gas industry alone merits its inclusion in this guide.
US Monetary Policy: An Introduction to Structure, Policy, Goals, Tools, Affects, and Strategies, including a Glossary and Suggested Reading, from the FRBSF http://www.frbsf.org/publications/federalreserve/monetary/index.html
In these extraordinary times for all things financial, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Fransisco has provided us with an introduction on monetary policy.
Economix http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/
Contributors to this blog – a service of The New York Times – maintain that economics doesn't have to be complicated. Rather, they feel that economics “is the study of our lives — our jobs, our homes, our families and the little decisions we face every day.”
Café Hayek http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/podcast/index.html
The authors of this blog are economists from Stanford University and George Mason University.
The Baseline Scenario http://baselinescenario.com/
This blog, really a kind of "digest" of other blogs, is an excellent starting point for understanding the economics of the here and now. Extensive links.
Statistical Information on the Web
These entries are taken from pages 102-103 of A. Paula Wilson’s 100 Ready-to-Use Pathfinders for the Web, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 2005.
Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.doc.gov
Provides timely, relevant, and official economic indicators including industry data such as gross domestic product, international trade and investment data regional estimates including state personal income, gross state product, and regional multipliers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics - At a Glance Tables http://www.bls.gov/eag/home.htm
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides easily accesible and readable data on unemployment rates, average hourly earnings, the consumer price index, and the producer price index. Data are available at the national regional and state levels as well as for many metropolitan areas. The site is updated as soon as new data comes in.
Economagic.com http://www.economagic.com
Economagic.com gives you easy access to more than 100,000 data series including state, metro and county employment data compiled by federal statistical agencies. The site will create spreadsheet files of data online, as well as graphing data in your Internet browser. Registered users can generate forecasts from historical data.
Economic Census Reports (Bureau of the Census) http://www.census.gov
Provides a detailed portrait of the Nation’s economy once every 5 years, from the national to the local level.
FedStats (Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy) http://www.fedstats.gov
Provides state and local data profiles drawn from multiple federal statistical agencies.
Regional Economic Conditions, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation http://www2.fdic.gov/recon/
Provides access to state, MSA, or county data. View standard graphs, tables, and maps depicting economic conditions, and how they have changed over time.
Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin Phillips.
West Bend Campus Library, Call Number HC 106.7 .P52 2008
Doing Business 2009
FdL Campus Library, Call number HD 3612 .D65 2008
A product of the staff of the World Bank Group, this book compares the prospects of doing business in 181 different countries. Attention is given to trade regulations, taxes, and a variety of other regulations that make a big difference in what it is like to do business in each country.
Economics by Matthew Forstater.
Located at both FdL and WB Campus Libraries.Call Number: HB 171 .F588 2007
Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class by Robert H. Frank.
Located at the West Bend Campus, Call Number: HT 690 U6 F73 2007
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Stephen Leavitt and Stephen Dubner.
Located at the WB Campus, Call Number: HB 74 .P8 L479 2005
Special Topics
Some particular issues might not be about Economics in a general sense, but are, nevertheless essential to our economy today. Therefore we felt it appropriate to include the following entries (including both web-based and print items):
Wind Power in the United States: Technology, Economic, and Policy Issues http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34546.pdf
This pdf file was prepared for members and committees of Congress by the Federation of American Scientists(FAS) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS). It includes graphics, charts and graphs, and an appendix on financial analysis methodology and assumptions.
H102 Lecture 19: The Great Depression and the New Deal
Some of the fine points economics are discussed in this online presentation about the Great Depression and the New Deal. From the UW-Madison History Department.
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies http://www.jointcenter.org/
The stated goal of this website is to improve the “Lives of African Americans and Other Communities of Color by Expanding their Participation” in politics and public policy. It includes a report on the minimum wage, statistical summaries of “Black Elected Officials,” as well as many other publications that address areas such as health, housing, crime, education, and voting among Blacks and other Americans. The site includes a databank which is only minimally accessible, since the search function isn’t working.
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Available at BD, FdL, & WB campuses, Call Number: HM 846 .F74 2006
In his account of the sweeping changes of our time, Friedman shows how and why globalization has now shifted into warp drive and he brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes. (Paraphrased from Google Book Search)
The International Encyclopedia of the Stock Market
Contents include biographical entries, definitions of stock market terms, as well as entries for countries and events vis-à-vis the stock market. Also includes appendices covering emerging stock markets, world currency, other investment information, and an annotated bibliography.This two-volume encyclopedia is held in the reference collection at the Fond du Lac Campus Library and as such, does not circulate. Call Number: HG 4551 .I57 1999
